Notable Recordings of 2021
December 9, 2021
by Alex Ross for The New Yorker
Ten Notable Performances of 2021
Notable Recordings of 2021
Chopin, Nocturnes; Stephen Hough (Hyperion)
“Baritenor”: arias by Mozart, Méhul, Spontini, Rossini, Adam, Donizetti, Verdi, Thomas, Offenbach, Leoncavallo, Lehár, Wagner, Ravel, Orff, Korngold; Michael Spyres, Marko Letonja conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (Erato)
Tyshawn Sorey, “For George Lewis,” Autoschediasms; Alarm Will Sound (Cantaloupe)
Liza Lim, “The Oresteia,” “Yuè Lìng Jié,” “Mother Tongue,” “The Navigator”; Julie Edwardson, Deborah Kayser, Tyrone Landau, Andrew Muscat-Clark, Grant Smith, Jeannie van de Velde, Piia Komsi, Omar Ebrahim, Philip Larson, Talise Trevigne, Andrew Watts, with Sandro Gorli, Simon Hewett, Jean Deroyer, and Manuel Nawri conducting Elision (Huddersfield Contemporary Records)
Andrew McIntosh, “A Moonbeam Is Just a Filtered Sunbeam”; McIntosh (Another Timbre)
Aleksandra Gryka, “Interialcell” and other works; Florian Müller, Johannes Kalitzke conducting Klangforum Wien (Kairos)
“Anima Aeterna”: arias and works by Zelenka, Fux, De Almeida, Handel, Nucci, Manna; Jakub Józef Orliński, Fatma Said, Francesco Corti leading Il Pomo d’Oro (Warner Classics)
“Melancholy Grace”: music of Frescobaldi, Laurencini, Rossi, Strozzi, Sweelinck, Picchi, Bull, Luzzaschi, Storace, Valente, Gibbons; Jean Rondeau (Erato)
Salieri, “Armida”; Lenneke Ruiten, Florie Valiquette, Teresa Iervolino, Ashley Riches, Christophe Rousset conducting Les Talens Lyriques and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur (Aparté)
Kassianí, Hymns; Alexander Lingas conducting Cappella Romana (Cappella)
“When the Violin”: works by Esmail, Salonen, Bach; Vijay Gupta (Vidya Projects)
Francisco Coll, Violin Concerto, “Hidd’n Blue,” “Mural,” Four Iberian Miniatures, “Aqua Cinerea”; Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gustavo Gimeno conducting the Luxembourg Philharmonic (Pentatone)
Anonymous, “Missa Gross Senen,” “Missa l’Ardant Desir”; Jesse Rodin leading Cut Circle (Musique en Wallonie)
“Density 2036,” Parts 1-5: works of Marcos Balter, Mario Diaz de León, Felipe Lara, George Lewis, Du Yun, Edgard Varèse, Dai Fujikura, Francesca Verunelli, Nathan Davis, Jason Eckardt, Pauline Oliveros, Suzanne Farrin, Tyshawn Sorey, Vijay Iyer, Pauchi Sasaki, Richard Beaudoin; Claire Chase and Roomful of Teeth (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Du Yun and Raven Chacon, “Sweet Land”; the Industry (The Industry)
Florence Price, Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3; Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (DG)
“Time Traveler’s Suite”: works by Bach, Handel, Ravel, Ligeti, Barber, Brahms, Couperin, Rameau, Adès; Inon Barnatan (Pentatone)
Brahms, Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, Liebeslieder; Emmanuelle Bertrand, Pascal Amoyel (Harmonia Mundi)
Marian Anderson, “Beyond the Music” (Sony Classical)
